School is back in session for Cal Poly students and for many businesses in the area, they’re already seeing a boost in sales. Residents are also preparing for an influx of students.
Cal Poly students are facing their first fall semester this month and before classes start for the 2026 school year, students and their parents were making an impact on local businesses in Downtown San Luis Obispo.
Peter Shaker owns SLO Froyo n' Italian Ice, SLOyo and SLO a la mode.
“Summer is always a little hard, especially on Foothill," Shaker said. "There's a lot of students that leave town, but we're very, very excited with the WOW week and all the students coming back.”
For this year, Cal Poly is predicting around 23 thousand students for the fall semester alone. In 2022, when enrollment was around 22 thousand students total, a study found that Cal Poly students generate around 2.6 billion dollars annually for the local economy. That’s around 12% of the county’s economic activity.
“They're a big part of our of how we run our business," Shaker said. "We've had somebody who's here as a freshman and all we want is to make them happy so they can keep coming back and back again for the next four years.”
While local businesses are seeing a huge impact, year-round residents in the San Luis Obispo area are bracing for longer lines, busier roads and a harder time finding parking spots.
Margaret and Rich Hendrickson said I caught them on a unique day.
“We kind of avoid downtown this time of the year when the students were coming in," Rich said. "Mass just let out here at the old mission so we're going to have a cup of coffee and a quick pass through. The restaurants tend to be crowded, so we don't want to wait.”
They said everything from restaurants to grocery stores tends to get busier. Nikki Ware said she plans ahead.
“We definitely avoid Target at prime hours," Ware said. "But other than that, you know, I think it's fun to kind of bump into people and help them out when we can."
Ware said the new school year is a breath of fresh air with the students moving back into town.
“It really livens up the community," Ware said. "I think being like young adults, we enjoy having like other young people around just to kind of, you know, mingle with and get to know. So I think it really helps out the community."
